Terrified
by agenttofutti
Summary: Prequel to 'A Night to Remember'. When Parker made a 'mistake' in their current job, Nate realizes something that terrifies him. Nate/Parker with bits of Team


**Title: **Terrified

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Leverage or its characters 'cause if I did, Nate and I would be drinking buddies. ;) I make no profit from this.

**Spoilers: **None.

**Pairing: **Nate/Parker

**Summary: **(Prequel to 'A Night to Remember')When Parker made a 'mistake' in their current job, Nate realizes something that terrifies him. Nate/Parker with bits of Team

**Author's Note: **I didn't envision this to be this long but still, please give it a try. All the mistakes that you might read here are all mine. Please enjoy.

Thanks to those who reviewed my first story; it made my day!

* I try (so hard) to keep them in character, but since this is an N/P story, it's more than likely that sprinkles of OOC may creep in.

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_2 days earlier…_

"Woman, woman! Listen to me," Hardison said as Parker stared blankly at him. "Nate's gonna kill you."

"Hardison!" Sophie yelled. "But Parker, what happened to all the things I've taught you for this job?" At her words, Parker had to roll her eyes. She knew she was wrong for going on her own (again) but what happened afterwards turned out to be better than everyone expected.

"Parker, you also have to remember us," Eliot chimed in. "There's a reason why there is a plan and why we have to stick to it."

"Yeah, yeah, Eliot's right. Even if that means less online time and more time for creating aliases for each of us, falsifying some documents and everything. You do realize the hard work—"

"Shut up, Hardison!" Sophie and Eliot hissed in unison.

Hardison was about to snap back at Eliot and Sophie when Nate entered the room. Everyone fell silent for a few minutes. Eliot started to walk out of the room, sensing that Nate would like to talk to Parker alone. Sophie followed afterwards, but Hardison was almost dragged out of the room while blabbing about the possibility that they may never see Parker ever again.

When Parker turned around to face Nate, she felt his intense stare, but she couldn't tell if it was anger, worry, or fear. She intently looked at the man in front of her and asked, "Wh-where's your knife? Hardison said you're gonna kill me… Or do you have a gun?"

It did nothing to lessen the intensity of Nate's stare. "I won't kill you," he said as he puts his hands on Parker's shoulders. "Why did you go on your own again?" He mouthed the words slowly, wanting the thief to understand that he is not _that_ angry with her.

Parker stepped backwards. "Why can't you all understand? I did what I deemed the right thing! Look, we're close to bringing the bastard down!"

"I know that! But wh-what if…" he sighed. "What if it didn't go that well and something bad happened to you?"

Parker looked up at him. She didn't expect him to be _that_ worried. She thought that he was angry with her because she didn't follow the plan but from what she understands… he was angry with her because he's concerned for her safety?

"I-I… don't know," was all that she managed to say. She shrugged the thought of Nate having feelings for her off. That would never happen in a million years. _Of course he feels that way; he'll feel that way even if the others did that._

"Please don't do it again," Nate pleaded as he hugged Parker. "I'm terrified of losing you."

Parker wasn't sure of what she heard, but smiled anyway because it was rare to see someone, let alone Nate to be worried for her _that much. _"Alright, I won't do it again. I uh, gotta go, we have a long day tomorrow," she stated as she pulled away from the hug and walked out of the room.

"See you tomorrow…" Nate whispered, without letting Parker to hear it. He felt a great relief, having able to breathe out something that he longed to tell the thief. _I'm making progress, I am making progress!_

As Parker walked out of the room, she felt… rejuvenated. It has been a while since she felt that way. When Hardison saw her, he exclaimed, "Ah, you're alive! Oh God, thank God for this! Oh… How did you beg Nate not to kill you?"

"Seriously, Hardison? You expect Nate to kill her? He would rather kill _you_," Eliot remarked.

"Guys, guys, just stop it," Sophie interrupted. "You know what? We must go home now. We have to prepare for tomorrow."

"That's a great idea," Parker said, and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, she didn't have to roll her eyes over the boys. But whatever happened in that room is starting to flood her thoughts.

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**A/N: **This is not what I had in mind when I did my first story, but I still hope that you find this a relevant prequel. Reviews are love!


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